Drive, Develop, Decide, Deliver

The current CEO of Fiat, Mr. Machionne says he had to fire all the managers that did not exhibit business acumen when he came on board. All the managers at Fiat need to live up to the motto of Mr. Machionne's four D's: drive, develop, decide, deliver. He clearly cannot leave engineers, without a business mindset, in charge of his business.

Doing Something Good For Someone Else

Value creation comes from meeting customer needs. You could say that the purpose of business is doing something good for someone else, either for profit or nonprofit depending on organizational objectives. This is reflected in our company's motto: "We create value together with our partners and a better, everyday life for our customers." I am even thinking about the purpose of life in a similar way; creating value equals doing something good for someone else.

Make Good Use Of Your Time

Focus in on the relatively few things that are really important. The secret is to do things in the order of their importance. The “80/20-rule” determines that the relationship between cause and effect is non-linear. There are a few vital efforts that generate most parts of a result. Start applying the 80/20-rule actively in your life. Remember that 20% of your efforts generate 80% of all your results. Focus on income generating activities and delegate everything else as much as possible.

Unlock Your Ideas Through Creative Thinking

Take time to think! Book a meeting with yourself each week. There are many ways to develop your creativity. This skill is not something we are born with but rather something that can be developed over time. Work with metaphors and use them to describe your ideas. Put your subconscious mind to work. Seek out new perspectives. Learn to think outside of the box. Turn the business logic upside down by trying the logic from another industry.

Relationships Make Things Happen

Yesterday we talked about the bottleneck equation of limited resources. Relationships is the multiplier in this equation. Relationships have to do with influence. Celebrities attract publicity and draw big audiences. That's why actors, athletes and TV personalities can make a fortune. You too can develop your brand! Network within your industry. Join an association. Establish new relationships every week. In essence, you are the sum of all your relationships, and relationships make things happen!

Money, Time, Ideas And Relationships

We say that time is money. The reverse is also true; money is time. Imagine that you can convert time, money, ideas and relationships with each other. Imagine there is a fixed exchange rate between these different entities. Can time equal ideas or relationships? Can ideas be equal to money or time? Of course they can! I call this the bottleneck equation of limited resources: money = time x ideas x relationships². Invest time, put the right relationships and ideas together and you have a recipe for success.

The Magic Of Attraction

When you buy a new car, all of a sudden you start to see similar vehicles everywhere. They were most likely there all the time! You just started to notice them when your brain considered them important. When we concentrate on something, our mind is more open to impulses that lead us in that direction. There seem to be an almost "magnetic" power at play when our imagination focuses on something we want to accomplish. Our imagination is a phenomenal asset. If you can conceive it, you can achieve it; that is the magic of attraction.

Bigger Deals Have Higher Emotional Content

When we buy something, we first buy it emotionally then we try to rationalise it to our own mind afterwards. When we buy a house or a new car this is particularly obvious. The lesson here from a sales perspective is clear; sell the emotion, the experience first then rationalise the benefits.

Sir Richard’s Rules

In Fortune Magazine (October 6, 2003), Richard Branson is quoted to outline his rules:
#1, Follow your passion

#2, Keep it simple

#3, Get the best people to help you

#4, Re-create yourself

#5, Play

I think I agree with him. Need I say more?